Jean's Statement in House of Commons on Jordan's Principle

Mr. Speaker, International human rights law acknowledges that, whenever possible, it is best to ensure children’s welfare within the family and community.

Standards for child and family services are set by provincial and territorial governments. Funding for child and family services on reserves however; comes from the federal government

In 2000, the federal government acknowledged that on average, funding for indigenous child and family services was 22 percent lower per child than provincial funding for non-indigenous children, despite the higher costs of providing service in small and remote communities. That gap has increased every year since.

With one in ten status Indian children currently in care it is unacceptable that this Conservative budget again ignored the needs of these vulnerable children.

I call on all my colleagues in this House to support Jordan’s Principle, which states that when there is a jurisdictional dispute over a child’s care, the needs of the child come first, without delay and the involved parties can then refer the matter to jurisdictional dispute mechanisms.

I also call on this Conservative government to ensure this gap in funding is quickly closed.